January 05, 2025 English

Our celebration of Christmas has been excellent, and I am grateful to many people. Our “Lighting Crew” and volunteers outdid themselves with a life-size crèche and many other decorations, which helped us rejoice in the newborn King. Our ministers of music – St. Jude school children’s choir, Spanish girls’ choir and adult choir, parish music team, and Filipino choir - have done an outstanding job on various occasions. The parish staff have worked hard behind the scenes before Christmas with patience and love. The Christmas party for the staff and school staff was also fabulous.  I am grateful to Fr. Kiko and Fr. Juan Pablo for their outstanding and energetic pastoral work for the parish.

Today, we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord. Germans have an old practice of purifying the household on the 12th day of Christmas, the eve of Epiphany. They burn herbs and inscribe the letters C+M+B (representing the legendary names of the Magi) above the entry to the house and barn. They also pray, asking for protection in the coming year: “Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar, protect us again this year from the dangers of fire and water.”

Speaking of the “dangers of fire and water,” I am thinking of the unfathomable plights of so many people, especially those who are fleeing the life-threatening conflicts in many countries of Africa and risking their lives to reach European soil. Syrians struggle to adjust to the new situation, and North Koreans, hostages in their land, are toiling daily in search of the necessities of life. The continuing war in Ukraine makes the lives of so many people miserable. Amidst the serious problem of malnutrition and poverty, the increasing military build-up in many countries is disturbing, to say the least. In light of these avoidable misery and conflicts, this Magi prayer takes added poignancy to us.
 
The words of Isaiah point us to the meaning of Epiphany (Isa 60: 1-2, 6): “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”

Magi’s actions in Matthew are conscientious in saving innocent lives and politically subversive since Herod was aligned with Rome.  Herod, the powerful half-Jewish despot, oppressed his people with taxes to fund his grandiose building projects while serving Rome’s interests in colonial Palestine. Herod “instituted what today would be called a police-state, complete with loyalty oaths, surveillance, informers, secret police, imprisonment, torture and brutal retaliation against any serious dissenter… Matthew 2 comes to life vividly against the background of Herodian exploitation and tyranny” (Horsley, The Liberation of Christmas, 1989).

The Epiphany story has a powerful message in this age of violence, wars, terrorism, refugee crises, and starvation in many parts of the world. Respect for divinely endowed human rights is the foundation of peace. Every abuse and exploitation of human rights and debasement of human dignity must be barred and eradicated. May the Magi protect all humanity from the dangers of fire and water this year! May the glory of the Messiah shine in every heart and place!

Fr. Paul D. Lee